University of Utah E Publications

Mishra, Somya

Chakrabarti, Debkumar

ISUF 2020: CITIES IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY  
 
COMMON PLACE- IDENTITY OF INDIAN TOWNS THROUGH HISTORIC 
MARKETPLACES: A CASE OF LUCKNOW 
Somya Mishra, Research Scholar, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, India 
Prof. Debkumar Chakrabarti, Professor, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, India 
ABSTRACT 
An identity of a place finds root in its skeletal features, associated activities, and the various 
experiences form critical features of that place. In Indian cities, marketplaces with their specific 
and unique architectural features have played an important role in an area's economic and social 
driving engines and become an integral part of the cultural geography. It is a result of the multi-
cultural wealth of India through which we experience a peaceful co-existence and merging of 
different beliefs, religions, and traditions for decades. With an in-depth comparative analysis, the 
different aspects of various influences can be assessed and provide a basis for sustainable 
refurbishment and planning for the historical bazaars with maintaining its original identity and 
modern functions. 
The conservation and enhancement of individual as well as collective parts of the historic built 
environment and their settings contribute to the wellbeing of communities, to the region's 
economy, and the enjoyment of visitors. This paper looks into finding elements that create a 
common place-identity of historic Indian city Lucknow, a medieval city that lives through modern 
changes. It expresses the salient architectural heritage in the built environment of marketplaces of 
Lucknow, that needs to be restored for heritage preservation with current usage. Keywords: Place- 
identity, Indian Heritage Architecture, Historic Marketplaces, Lucknow. 
INTRODUCTION  
In modern times the unplanned development in historic cities has destroyed the view- scape of the 
otherwise beautifully designed aesthetics. As Lynch has pointed out, life is not impossible in such 
places, but the quality of life can be better if the urban quality is maintained. Moreover, view- 
scape of a heritage precinct- has an essential role to play to have an understanding of this historic 
environment in towns and cities (Lynch, 1960). There are several studies on the perceived quality 
of the urban environment that tries to establish a harmonious relationship between the architecture 
of this view-scape that include streetscape and landmarks, and people around it.   
In the Indian context, studies and research focusing on the visibility of historic streetscapes and the 
preservation of their view are not given importance. But there is a need for such research to protect 
the views and to sustain the cultural as well as the architectural identity of a city. These landmarks 
are constantly threatened by surrounding urban development, which obscures the traditionally 
enjoyed views. This study attempts to fill that gap by studying the architectural elements that 
become its identity in the present scenario. The benefits are: 
• It allows the designers to pick better options from all available alternatives for 
façade design in historical cities of India. The outcomes of the study will enable 
designers to identify the identifying features that people relate to from all façade 
elements. 
2 ISUF 2020 Cities in the Twenty-first Century 
• The shift of primary stakeholders being developers to the users has given rise to 
develop an understanding of what the users want and what are their aspirations 
from the development project.  
• The primary focus of development bye-laws is on the planning of an area, but it 
also tends to keep a check on the certain visual aspect, knowingly or unknowingly. 
The aesthetic quality of urban spaces and view scape creation has now become an 
essential part of these laws. The regulations for street façade will be beneficial if a 
designer wants a list of elements that give identity to the place. 
• The identity design generated by user preference survey is a cost-effective way of 
designing an urban area where people can relate to the architecture, without any 
extra effort. 
BACKGROUND  
Lucknow Metropolis lies between the coordinates of 26o 30' N to 27o 10' N latitudes and 80o 30' 
E to 81o 13' E longitudes. It is the capital city of one of the most populous state of Uttar Pradesh in 
India. Lucknow is situated in the middle of Gangetic Plain and spreads on the banks of the river 
Gomati, a left-bank tributary of river Ganga. It enjoys a central position in the state of Uttar 
Pradesh. (Kumari, May 2015). 
Nawabi reign is vital for the development of the architecture of the city. Architecture shared the 
major part of the resources and energies of the rulers, known as Nawabs. Almost every deceased 
ruler was accorded a tomb; every new Nawab superstitiously abandoned the palace where his 
predecessor died and built his own. Religious architecture received special impetus from their 
unbounded enthusiasm towards the glorification of the names of the Imams. In the course of a 
hundred years, Lucknow was all over studded with scores of palatial monuments, majestic 
gateways, Imambaras, mosques, tombs, country houses, including more than a hundred monuments 
in all. So that when Rassel visited Lucknow in 1857, he recorded his impressions with reference to 
its monumental buildings in the following words, "Not Rome, nor Athens, nor Constantinople, nor 
any city in India appears to me as striking as this, and the more I gaze, the more its beauty grows 
upon me." (Oldenburg, 1984) 
The monuments of the Nawabi period may be broadly divided into two groups;  
• religious buildings such as tombs, mosques, and Imambaras; and 
• Secular buildings consisting of palaces, pavilions, garden-houses, and gateways.  
In the former kind of buildings, the traditional elements of Mughal architecture are consistently 
preserved. A sanctuary covered by a dome, tall minarets with cupolas, a high plinth for the base, 
range of cloisters, arches, arcades, kiosks, and turrets continues to be employed. Although one 
finds some casual foreign elements adopted here and there, such as Corinthian pillars, Gothic 
vaulting, and Roman round arches, they are of a distorted form, or their effect remains subdued 
due to overpowering native elements. Nawabi architecture makes an exciting transformation of the 
Afghani style into what may be called the contemporary European style. This change may be said 
to have taken place in three phases of transition. 
• THE FIRST PHASE  
It is characterized by the adoption of Mughal style and is represented by the tomb of 
Safdar Jung built in 1754, his own tomb, palaces of Faizabad, and some earlier buildings 
3 ISUF 2020 Cities in the Twenty-first Century 
of Lucknow, such as the Daulat Khana palace, with the penetration of British political 
influence into Awadh,  
• THE SECOND PHASE  
European influence becomes more visible here; Shuja-ud Daulah was the first to do 
requisition of the services of a British engineer. Only casual traces of European influence 
are seen at this time and seem to have entered by modifications or additions. The Nawab 
himself might have suggested these changes in the plan. 
An essential role in this direction was played by Claude Martin, the French adventurer who settled 
in Lucknow during the reign of Asaf-ud Daulah. The fantastic of is creation captured the imagination 
of the Awadh builders who could see in it fresh ideas to introduce in their own buildings. From then 
onwards, European elements continued to infiltrate increasingly into the native architecture. The 
demand for European engineers increased. 
• THE THIRD PHASE:  
Of these, the names of MacLeod and Tucket are worth mentioning. MacLeod was 
employed by Saadat Ali Khan, who owing to his long association with the English, was 
much inclined to 'the western ways of life.' Tucket served under Ghazi-ud Din Haider. The 
buildings erected under European influence in the second phase combine the indigenous 
and foreign elements. Examples of these are the Palace Farhat Riakhsh, the Great Chhattar 
Manjil Palace, Lal Baradari. The buildings erected in a purely English style represent the 
third phase. Specimens of this are Hayat Bakhsh, DiTaram, Alsiji Baghj Sufaid Baradari, 
and Lunka Palace. 
These phases cannot be rigidly separated chronologically. The whims and fancies of the individual 
builders largely determined the style of a building. Almost all the palaces of Saadat Ali were built 
Figure 1. The Heritage Precincts showcasing buildings from 
the phase 1 (Image source: Author) 
Figure 2. The marketplaces demonstrating other phases 
and the effect of various developments in Lucknow (Image 
source: Author)   
4 ISUF 2020 Cities in the Twenty-first Century 
in the English style. The fact is, that the process of transformation was still in its early stages when 
the dynasty came to an end.  
METHODOLOGY  
The study started with a literature review for a place- identity principles and creation methods. It 
was followed by a literature review of various historic markets that are still in use, catering to 
modern needs yet keeping the built heritage intact. After identification of identity creating method, 
the principle is applied to determine the parts of built heritage that create commonplace identity in 
three different markets of Lucknow. The three markets studied are the Chhota Imambara Complex 
market at Husssainabad, Phool Chowk KhunKhunJi Road, Aminabagh-Sri Ram Road. This led to a 
site survey, where a questionnaire survey was done with a sample size of thirty people. It was 
purposive convenience sampling, where gender and age groups of people were not considered for 
analysis. The main criteria were that the person must at least be thirty years old, with more than 
twenty years of stay at the place. This was done to make sure that s/he is familiar to the 
marketplaces up to a resident level and is not a tourist. The level of familiarity for a tourist and 
resident is found to be different and affects the common place- identity of a city. (Gintinga & 
Wahidb, 2015). 
SURVEY RESULTS 
On being asked if they see any relation in facades of buildings on the same street of the three 
markets under study, 90 % said no. Yet they recognized some relations like 87% found common 
ornamentation styles, 83% saw a connection between them, and everybody agreed that doors and 
windows had the same character. People have equally divided opinion about architecture being 
human scale or not. A combined list of elements from each market was created, and people had to 
pick the elements that they think is a part of Lucknow markets. The window from the Aminabagh 
area was recognized by most people (75%) because of its colonial character. Unlike windows, 
doors don't have architectural significance but have cultural meaning for the place. Entries with a 
particular motif or historical significance were recognized, with 56% of people choosing them. 
People had no trouble in recognizing dome, and around 90% chose dome from Imambara. 86% 
People chose pointed multifoil/ Moorish arch from the Bada Imambara entrance gate, followed by 
the same arches from two different locations from the same area. These results from the survey 
were analyzed and are discussed in the next section.  
ANALYSIS RESULTS 
The survey results are analyzed using the semiotic analysis to derive the list of elements that give 
identity to the city. (Mishra & Kolay, 2019) It is found that the identity is created by architectural 
elements like domes, arches, door window design, and the ornamentation. The people pass under 
the Gateway, know as Rumi Darwaza, hand have a strong visual relationship with it. Hence they 
related to multi cusped Moorish arch as the most seen element. But all the other choices of 
architectural elements in the three markets necessarily contained the three-point Mughal arch. This 
shows that identity creation is a complicated process and needs a deeper study. Similarly, while 
talking about the window design, respondents found the window design of phase one as most 
relatable. But their choice also reveals wooden louvers as a part of the windows. It is interpreted 
that people in all three markets relate to windows of the Mughal style, yet familiar with the 
European influences. For them, Phase three dominates the door window design in the markets 
under study. In the ornamentation part, the motif design from phase two is repeated in the markets. 
5 ISUF 2020 Cities in the Twenty-first Century 
People find this as the defining element that binds all the markets together. The other motif design 
that brings in the same language is of a flower, which is predominantly used in the Hussainabad 
market, Chhota Imambara Complex. It is concluded that the place identity is created by smaller 
elements of architecture and not a façade as a whole. 
CONCLUSIONS 
This study aimed to investigate into the common place- identity of historical markets of medieval city 
Lucknow, India, according to users of the place. This study has brought forth the difference in 
perspectives of people who see the same place every day. The list of elements generated here can 
be used by designers and planners of these cities to come up with urbanscapes that are more 
sensitive to the context of the city. The user preference survey also reveals the importance of 
architecture for people and how they relate to it. It is found that the place identity is created by 
smaller elements of architecture and not a façade as a whole. 
The user preference survey showed that Lucknow has a strong visual identity in the minds of local 
residents. This shared place- identity is reflected in the survey results where people chose a 
particular type of arches, domes, traditional elements, motifs, etc., which in turn forms the common 
place- identity of the city markets. The survey also revealed that the history of these places has a 
major role in the creation of identity.  They relate these stories with architecture and create their 
own perception of the architectural identity of the place. 
The study also revealed elements for designers to use while planning street facades in new 
developments. The study can be carried forward and take into account other aspects like activities 
and spatial planning of the area. The same methodology can be used to investigate user 
preferences in these heritage areas and show their significance. Other building typologies may also 
be examined similarly. 
This study has considered the fact that the essence of an old town marketplace in India, as 
suggested by several researchers, needs to be protected. The place- identity of these areas needs 
to take into account the user perspective, too, as they are the regular users of those areas. For a 
semiotic analysis, street facades can be considered as a composition, and semiotic tools can be 
used to determine the identity from the user preference survey. 
REFERENCES 
Gintinga, N. & Wahidb, J., 2015. Exploring Identity's Aspect of Continuity of Urban Heritage 
Tourism. Istanbul, Turkey, Elsevier Ltd., p. 234 – 241. 
Kroenke, D. & Auer, D., 2009. Database Concepts. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. 
Kumari, D. (. K., May 2015. Urban Sprawl: A Case Study of Lucknow City. International Journal 
of Humanities and Social Science Invention Volume 4 Issue 5 , pp. 11- 20. 
Lynch, K., 1960. The Image of The City. Massachusetts: The M.I.T. Press. 
Mishra, S. & Kolay, S., 2019. Visual Perception of the Street Façade of a Historic Town: Case 
Study of the Walled City of Jaipur, India. In: In Research into Design for a Connected World. 
Singapore: Springer, pp. (pp. 377 389). Springer, Singapore. 
6 ISUF 2020 Cities in the Twenty-first Century 
Oldenburg, V. T., 1984. The Making of Colonial Lucknow, 1856-1877. Princeton, New Jersey: 
Princeton University Press. 
Stair, R. & Reynolds, G., 2001. Principles of Information Systems. Boston: Course Technology. 
 
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR 
Somya Mishra, Research Scholar, Department of Design, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Assam, 
India. Pin Code- 781039. smishra@iitg.ac.in  


English

Common place-identity of Indian towns through historic marketplaces: a case of Lucknow

Wen, Zengxin

Zhang, Xiaochun

Urban repair through infrastructure: the transformation of railway nodes in Shanghai

Uribe, Francisco Alaniz

ISUF 2020: CITIES IN THE TWENTY -FIRST CENTURY  
 
HOW MEXICO’S CHRONIC VIOLENCE HAS DESTROYED THE PUBLIC 
REALM AND HOW IT CAN BE RECLAIMED. 
Francisco Alaniz Uribe, Assistant Professor, University of Calgary, Canada 
ABSTRACT 
The tradition of public life in Mexico goes back thousands of years. Since pre-Colombian times 
Mexican cities were planned and developed around public spaces that serve as the stage for multiple 
expressions of culture (food, art, sport, social connections, etc.). In the past few decades crime and 
the failure to provide safety has changed how the public realm functions. It is more limited and, in 
some cases, privatized. This project looked at the morphological changes over time in two Mexican 
cities, Monterrey and Mexico City. In both cities there are multiple examples of cases where the public 
realm has been affected in its form and function. Understanding these changes is a key step in 
addressing the problem and developing strategies for improvements. 
Keywords: urban morphology, Mexico, public realm, safety, public life. 
INTRODUCTION  
Mexican cities have a rich urban history and tradition that dates back over 2,000 years. Since pre-
Columbian times the central square, the market and other public spaces were the focus of public life 
and the stage were culture would express itself (Hassig, 1982). Food, music, open theatre and many 
other expressions of the arts would take place in these spaces. Social connections between citizens 
of all socioeconomic status would happen here. That has changed over the past decades. The 
increase in violence has deeply impacted the way cities are being build and adapted. The failure of 
crime control has resulted in an inward expression of the built form.  
When studying the morphology of large Mexican cities like Monterrey and Mexico City it is apparent 
how society has surrendered the public realm, in some cases privatizing it and in others turning its 
back on it(Palma, 2014) (Giglia, 2018). This study used a multi-scale approach to understand 
changes in form, from the building scale to the neighbourhood scale. It shows how over time block 
structure was modified and public spaces outsourced to the private sector. The cumulative effect of 
these changes is a disjointed city lacking permeability and with a hostile public realm. Understanding 
how we have reached this point is the foundation for remediating strategies and suggesting 
alternative approaches. 
The majority of the violent crime in Mexico is associated to the endemic drug trafficking. The current 
dimension of this problem dates back decades and needs to be understood as an incremental 
problem. It started in the 1940s with small organizations, often run by families, that profited from 
contraband to and from the United States. When drugs started to become popular in the United 
States these criminal groups started to shift from contraband to drug trafficking. Profits started to 
make their way into the corruption networks of the security services. Initially the scale of the problem, 
while significant, was not yet affecting the general population but when the United States government 
began to persecute drug trafficking routes from Colombia and the Caribbean the main drug trafficking 
routes shifted to Mexico(Hernandez et al., 2013). It is at this time that the dimension of the problem 
exponentially grew. Estimates vary from $5 to $39 billion US Dollars-worth of drug trafficking 
originates from Mexico annually(Rizzo, 2019). This money has fuelled a network of corruption that 
permeates the highest levels of government and has left behind appalling statistics and an impunity 
index of over 93% of crimes going unpunished (INEGI, 2019).  
This new reality of crime has deeply affected the general population and how they interact with the 
build environment. With a perception of vulnerability, lack of safety and protection by the 
government(INEGI, 2019), people have built their own mechanism of defense. Shielding themselves 
from the possibility of being victims of crime, buildings of all land uses have changed their design, 
neighbourhoods have reconfigured streets, while parks and open spaces have been neglected.  
2 ISUF 2020 Cities in the Twenty-first Century 
This project documented and analyzed cases of these types of built form transformations using two 
large cities as case studies. Mexico City, the capital in the centre of the country, and Monterrey the 
third largest city and an industrial centre in close proximity to the United States border.  
METHODOLOGY  
The methodology for this project was based on archival research of photograph and current aerial and 
street view Google photos. Site visits were also a key component of the research to observe the 
changes to locations. And finally, a workshop conducted with students for the Universidad 
Iberoamericana in Mexico City explored the concept around perception of safety and walkability. This 
research considered the public realm at different scales starting with the building/street wall and 
continuing with the street, park, plaza and neighbourhood. In the following section examples will be 
provided to illustrate the different findings at the different scales studied.  
FINDINGS  
This section is structured around five examples that illustrate the findings of the study. They vary in 
scale and provide an overview of the built form transformations. Three are located in Mexico City and 
two in Monterrey.  
Jardines del Pedregal, Mexico City: this neighbourhood is a landmark of the modernist movement by 
architect Luis Barragan. Design in the 1950s it was developed as a high-end residential 
neighbourhood. It was comprised of different parcel sizes, some of them significantly large. It included 
a system of parks connected by linear green linkages. Today this is one of the most expensive 
residential locations. There have been two main transformations in this neighbourhood. The first 
transformation is the building of security walls and gates in all the parcels consisting of high walls, 
barbwire, security camaras, privacy glass and sometimes even bulletproof features. All of these 
security measures have been built at the property line with no setbacks. This has left the street, the 
public realm with virtually no eyes-on-the-street, no permeability but for the brief moments of exit and 
entry. The second transformation is the conversion of some of the large parcels to small gated 
communities, with 4-6 homes with on single secure gate access and small private common open 
areas to the interior for children to play. There is no connection between the inhabitants of these 
houses with the public realm. The streets act like channelized drainages, concrete pipes that only 
serve the automobile and the few pedestrians which are the domestic workers of the neighbourhood.  
3 ISUF 2020 Cities in the Twenty-first Century 
Figure 1. Google Maps photos of Jardines del Pedregal showing new gated community and new closed street. 
Las Arboledas, Mexico City: this residential neighbourhood it is also designed by Luis Barragan. It 
was developed for upper middle-class families. With smaller lots than the Pedregal and a concept 
based on linear parks along the main roadways. It was highly focused on the pedestrian with an 
interconnected series of parks and plazas. Today the changes have transformed most residences into 
small fortresses with little to no permeability at all. While the security measures are not as 
sophisticated as the ones in El Pedregal, most homes now include a high wall and security doors. The 
one particular change that is different than El Pedregal is the privatization of streets. Residents of a 
particular block would organize and request to the municipality the closure of their street. When 
approved the neighbours would team together fund the building of a security gate and contract a 
security company to man the gate at all times. Anyone not residing within that street will not be 
allowed to enter. This has created a second police force in Mexico City that is founded by the private 
sector. It has affected the permeability of the neighbourhood and completely changed how people 
interact with the rest of their neighbours.  
4 ISUF 2020 Cities in the Twenty-first Century 
Figure 2. Las Arboledas original plan (Sobre Lad Arboledas de Barragán, Melissa Martínez, 
2013https://laeramainstream.com/2013/11/15/sobre-las-arboledas-de-barragan/), current aerial Google Maps photo and 
three examples of closed streets using Google Maps StreetView. 
Privanzas, Monterrey: This particular neighbourhood is a new development in comparison with the 
past two cases. It was not an old neighbourhood to gradually change but a new neighbourhood 
offering an additional level of security. In the metropolitan area of the city of Monterrey, the 
municipality of San Pedro Garza Garcia is one of the most affluent in the country based on the income 
per capita (FitchRatings, 2019). For a long period of time this municipality saw very slow development 
because of a lack of developable land. When a new track of land was approved for the development, 
the Privanzas neighbourhood was designed. It was a high end, low density residential neighbourhood 
as many others in San Pedro but the difference was that instead of having an interconnected grid 
block pattern it was designed as a series of small gated communities with 20-40 units on each, with a 
security gate and guard, high walls and small communal areas inside to be used for residents only. 
The agenda of this new development is not hidden, one of these gated communities is called La 
Muralla which in Spanish means The Wall. The public realm in these areas is of the lowest quality 
with sidewalks next to walls that can be as tall as 5 meters high. Essentially the public realm is used in 
two ways by two different social cohorts, one being the residents in their cars and the other are the 
domestic and construction workers walking to and from work.  
5 ISUF 2020 Cities in the Twenty-first Century 
Figure 3. Google Maps aerial photo and StreetView of Privanzas Neighbourhood in Monterrey. 
Tecnologico de Monterrey: University campuses offer a unique opportunity to the city and can 
contribute to the richness of the public realm, potentially adding to the parks and open space system. 
They are places where the community can interact in a different way and often the surrounding areas 
of the campus benefit from the high traffic of students and staff. The Tecnologico de Monterrey is one 
of the best universities in the country and it was founded in the 1950s with the goal to train highly 
qualified engineers and scientist for the new modern workforce that Mexico needed. The original 
campus was envisioned as a large park with faculty buildings and ample green spaces. The Rectoria 
building (main administration building) was the centrepiece of the campus. The campus could be 
approached from all sides and it was highly permeable. Over time this started to change gradually 
with fences being built and with multiple security gates. Even then anyone could enter the campus 
more or less freely. Once again gradually that would change to the point that only a few gates 
remained open and they were heavily guarded and only people with ID or with an invitation could 
enter. In 2010 a tragic accident occurred that reflected the level of insecurity and lack of permeability 
of the campus. Two students trying to get shelter after witnessing a military shootout with members of 
a drug trafficking cartel were shot and killed by the Mexican army as they tried to enter the campus. 
The campus because of the shootout had closed all access and gates and the students had no way to 
escape the danger. They were confused with criminals and died at the edge of the campus. Today the 
campus is a fortress with no permeability and very little connection with its surrounding community. All 
of the green spaces and extensions of the public realm have become inaccessible to all but the 
students and staff. What once was a jewel and pride for the community it is now a walled inaccessible 
enclave. 
6 ISUF 2020 Cities in the Twenty-first Century 
Figure 4. Campus Tecnologico de Monterrey 1962 (By Fermin Tellez 
http://fermintellez.blogspot.com/2009/06/panoramica-del-itesm-en-1962.html) and current Google Maps aerial and 
StreetView photos of the campus 
Public Realm Mapping Workshop: In 2019 I conducted a workshop with students of the Universidad 
Iberoamericana. The goal of the workshop was to show the students different ways to assess the 
quality of the public realm. In groups of two, students were given a location point in different 
neighbourhoods in Mexico City. Each group would map and analyze the public realm’s different 
qualities. One of the qualities analyzed was the perception of safety. We understand that depending 
on how safe a public realm environment feels, people might be more or less inclined on using the 
public realm (Tiesdell and Oc, 1998). Since there is a difference between mapping crime and crime 
statistics versus the perception of safety the exercise was for students to “walk” the streets of their 
particular locations using Google Street View and rank their neighbourhood’s public realm safety 
based on their own perception of safety. After the exercise we discussed how students interpreted key 
elements they observed to inform their perception of safety. When discussing this and looking at the 
images collected it became clear that the more a neighbourhood was walled off and less permeable 
the street-wall was, the more students would categorize the space as unsafe. And if those walled-off 
spaces also looked ran down showing graffiti, sidewalks in bad condition, unhealthy street trees then 
the level of safety dropped even lower.  
CONCLUSIONS 
The levels of crime and impunity occurring right now in Mexico are unprecedented. In many parts of 
the country it is beyond the control of the government. It is logical than individuals have found a way 
to increase their security and try to feel safe in their homes and businesses. We can’t ask them to 
embrace the concepts of eyes-on-the-street of Jane Jacobs (Jacobs, 1961) when the perception of 
safety it’s low. It would be naïve to think that urban design and planning can present solutions to the 
problem of crime but I will offer my view as a Mexican on how civic society can act and try to reclaim 
the public realm to a degree, without having to wait for the government to act. The only way the public 
realm can return to be the centre of public life in Mexico is for communities to retake public spaces 
with large numbers. Programing in the case would be the main weapon. Mexico has a tradition of 
plaza where music plays and people dance, children play even at night and couples walk around to 
enjoy the night. More and more communities are coming together to program these spaces and to act 
together as a group rather than individuals. Second hand and arts and craft street markets get 
scheduled. Movies are being projected on the high walls of churches for public viewing. Yoga and Tai 
7 ISUF 2020 Cities in the Twenty-first Century 
Chi classes are taken outside on small community parks. Streets are closed to traffic for days of 
cycling and running. People will feel safer among other people, their neighbours. Residential 
neighbourhoods will continue to be challenged by a lack of public realm use and decrease in 
permeability but the programing of some of its public spaces can provide a gradual recovery. Even 
individual actions can make a difference. Figure 5 shows local musicians playing in a walled off 
neighbourhood where a little girl listens from a walled of house, and a painted wall with poetry by 
Accion Poetica, a movement started in Monterrey that covers neglected walls in the public realm with 
short poetry. This movement is now in over 40 countries(Vega, 2020).  
Figure 5. Retaking the public realm, music and poetry initiatives by community members. (Photos by @Priscilan18 
and Accion Poetica).  
Unfortunately, during the Covid-19 pandemic this approach has experienced a serious setback. With 
stay-at-home orders the public realm is more deserted than usual. In San Pedro residents have been 
order not to go outside, not even for a walk or a run at a park if it’s not a way of transiting. With 
uncertainty of how the post-Covid future might look I am of the view that when allowed to go back to 
the public realm, people will realize its value and will reclaim it with force. The principle of ‘what you 
miss you value’ might be the catalyst for a rejuvenated effort to reclaim the public realm and 
reconquer public life. Maybe this too is naïve, but I still see it as an opportunity. 
REFERENCES 
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Negative [Online]. Available: https://www.fitchratings.com/research/international-public-finance/fitch-
affirms-municipality-of-san-pedro-garza-garcia-mexico-idr-at-bbb-outlook-negative-29-03-
2019#:~:text=Rating%20Action%20Commentary-,Fitch%20Affirms%20Municipality%20of%20San%20P
edro%20Garza%20Garcia%2C%20Mexico's,at%20'BBB%2B'%3B%20Outlook%20Negative&text=Fitch
%20Ratings%2DMonterrey%2D29%20March,The%20Rating%20Outlook%20is%20Negative 
[Accessed]. 
GIGLIA, A. 2018. Privatización del espacio, autosegregación y participación ciudadana en la Ciudad de México. 
El caso de las calles cerradas en la zona de Coapa (Tlalpan, Distrito Federal). Revista Trace, 71. 
HASSIG, R. 1982. Periodic Markets in Precolumbian Mexico. American Antiquity, 47, 346-355. 
HERNANDEZ, A., SAVIANO, R., BRUCE, I. & FOX, L. S. 2013. Narcoland: The Mexican Drug Lords And Their 
Godfathers, Verso Books. 
INEGI 2019. Encuesta Nacional de Victimización y Percepción sobre Seguridad Pública. Instituto Nacional de 
Estadística y Geografía. 
JACOBS, J. 1961. The Death and Life of American Cities. 
PALMA, R. C. 2014. Privatización del espacio público: calles cerradas en la colonia Pantitlán, delegación 
Iztacalco, D.F. Revista Mexicana de Opinión Pública, 16, 96-110. 
8 ISUF 2020 Cities in the Twenty-first Century 
RIZZO, S. 2019. Do Mexican drug cartels make $500 billion a year? The Washington Post. 
TIESDELL, S. & OC, T. 1998. Beyond ‘Fortress’ and ‘Panoptic’ Cities—Towards a Safer Urban Public Realm. 
Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design, 25, 639-655. 
VEGA, N. R. 2020. Acción Poética llega a más de 40 países. El Universal. 
 CORRESPONDING AUTHOR 
Francisco Alaniz Uribe, Assistant Professor, School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, University of 
Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, PF2182, Calgary, AB, T2L 2B6, Canada. falanizu@ucalgary.ca 
 


How Mexico's chronic violence has destroyed the public realm and how it can be reclaimed

Hayes, Michael K.

Describing sprawl: a configurational analysis of suburban form in the contiguous Dublin metropolitan region

Peng, Danlu

Jiang, Danning

Song, Feng

Changes in political meaning of the built environment: exemplified by the transformation of the institutional plot pattern in Beijing

Gao, Hao

Zhang, Xinyue

Zhang, Qian

Wang, Fang

Sun, Haoyu

Kong, Zhiyong

ISUF 2020: CITIES IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY  
 
REGENERATION UNDER CRISIS—RESEARCH ON THE RENEWAL AND 
EVOLUTION OF THE FORMS OF FUTURE URBAN RESIDENTIAL 
COMMUNITIES 
Hao Gao, Master of Architecture, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, 
China. 
Xinyue Zhang, Master of Architecture, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an, Shaanxi 
Province, China. 
Qian Zhang, Professor, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China. 
Fang Wang, Associate professor, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, 
China. 
Haoyu Sun, Master of Architecture, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, 
China. 
Zhiyong Kong, Master of Architecture, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an, Shaanxi 
Province, China. 
ABSTRACT 
The rapid development of high-tech technology has brought opportunities to solve the practical 
problems of poor environment, mixed traffic, and lack of facilities in old urban settlements. This 
article discusses the future intelligent unmanned autonomous system to participate in the 
construction of living systems. Through the three-dimensional extension of urban infrastructure and 
public service systems, the boundary shape of old settlements will be disintegrated and 
reconstructed. The urbanized form of the city will enhance the living environment of the old 
community in the city and provide a new idea for the continuous renewal of the urban form of the 
future.  
INTRODUCTION  
In recent years, the rapid development of the information age has brought us great convenience, 
especially the arrival of the 5G era. The high-speed and convenient network space has provided 
technical support for future unmanned devices such as drones, unmanned vehicles, and robots. 
Accelerate the construction of future smart communities. However, the existing communities in the 
city are facing serious environmental problems, chaotic traffic, lack of facilities and unable to meet 
the living needs of residents, and cannot provide a carrying space for the construction of future 
smart communities.  
In order to discuss how existing communities can adapt to the construction of future smart 
communities, the typical representative Baimiao community in Xi'an is taken as the research object, 
from the aspects of the existing community's material space environment and residents' daily life 
needs, and the "boundary" is proposed. The concept of "reconstruction" is an organic micro-
renewal of the existing community, with a view to providing a more comfortable and convenient 
community space for the residents in the existing community.  
BACKGROUND  
2 ISUF 2020 Cities in the Twenty-first Century 
STATUS OF RESIDENTIAL ENVIRONMENT IN BAIMIAO COMMUNITY 
The Baimiao Community is located in the golden section 
of Bianjia Village, wrapped in the middle of the South 
Second Ring Road, Taibai Road, and Youyi West Road. 
The community was built in 1993, and there are 30 7-
story brick-concrete structured plate houses. The nearby 
villages in the city have been demolished, surrounded by 
tall buildings (Figure 1), full of traffic, but the area is 
dilapidated, the facilities are aging, and they are in 
disrepair. All kinds of temporary buildings such as 
carports and warehouses have chaotic environments. 
 
The original public service facilities in the small area are 
relatively scarce, and most of them were built 
spontaneously according to their own needs later. At present, there are only a few small buildings 
on the west side of the entrance (Xi'an Beilin Panjingan Clinic, Community Hot Spring, Ma Runliang 
Police Station), a 3-storey kindergarten, and a 3-storey service complex on the east side (Pan 
Jingan Clinic, snack bar, convenience store), etc. Public service facilities. These facilities are 
scattered in layout and single in function, which brings great inconvenience to residents' daily use. 
During the planning of the community, the rapid development of private cars was not predicted, 
resulting in chaos in the community today, people and vehicles mixed, residents’ public activity 
spaces were occupied, outdoor activity spaces became fragmented, and dangers were everywhere 
visible. For the only relatively small square in the community, the site is too empty, and it is not 
equipped with corresponding leisure facilities, shading facilities, etc., which gradually reduces it to 
an unattractive "lost space". 
The facade of the residential building in the community often has a variety of external window 
extensions, such as encapsulating the north balcony as a kitchen operation space, and adding a 
shelf that protrudes from the external wall at each external window. Window protection nets, air-
conditioning racks, etc., that is, various facilities attached to the external wall that were built 
spontaneously based on various living purposes when the original building was initially built and 
after the residents lived, resulting in chaotic facades and hidden security risks The big problem. 
STATUS OF PUBLIC LIFE IN BAIMIAO COMMUNITY 
Due to the deteriorating environment and incomplete public service facilities in Baimiao Community, 
a large number of young indigenous people in the community gradually moved out of the 
community. The rest are mostly left-behind elderly retired from surrounding units. The attachment to 
the living environment and the inconvenience of economic and physical conditions are unwilling to 
move away. At the same time, due to the superior geographical location and cheap rent of 
Baimiao Community, a large number of migrant workers are willing to live here. At present, there 
are 1648 households in the community, 5288 people, 1850 people are over 60 years old, the 
aging degree has reached 35%, and have lived in the community for more than 10 years; the 
number of migrant workers is about 3172, which is the total number 15%. Therefore, the elderly 
and migrant workers with low economic income in the community become the main residents, and 
the family structure is mainly composed of two or three persons.  
Figure 1. Schematic diagram of community 
environment 
3 ISUF 2020 Cities in the Twenty-first Century 
In summary, the poor environment, mixed traffic, and lack of facilities in the Baimiao community 
have caused the living and living conditions in the community to be far from being able to meet the 
various behavior needs of residents. The social life network and physical space environment of the 
entire community urgently need to be optimized, upgraded and updated to improve the quality of 
life of residents and activate the vitality of the community. 
METHODOLOGY  
The article mainly uses the on-site investigation method to investigate the shape, environmental 
status and infrastructure of the old community in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province. By summarizing and 
sorting out the problems in the existing old community, it is proposed to build a brand new one by 
using unmanned equipment. The service system solves the problems of poor environment, lack of 
infrastructure and chaotic forms of residential areas in old communities. 
FINDINGS  
THREE-DIMENSIONAL EXTENSION OF URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE AND PUBLIC SERVICE 
SYSTEM BASED ON UNMANNED SYSTEM 
The traditional urban infrastructure and public service system is a two-dimensional system, serving 
each community in a point-and-face manner. Although the layout of various infrastructures satisfies 
a suitable travel radius in terms of distance, with the rapid development of urban modernization in 
recent years, the intrusion of cars and other phenomena have led to extremely crowded roads, 
extended travel time of residents, hindered efficiency, and public service facilities It has not been 
fully utilized, and public services are inefficient. The urban infrastructure and public service system 
should be further improved to meet the needs of urban expansion. The rapid development of 
unmanned devices such as drones, unmanned vehicles, and robots provides an opportunity for the 
extension of life service networks. First of all, we should sort out the existing community surrounding 
infrastructure and the status of the public service system, retain the intact parts for repair and 
maintenance, and continue the original two-dimensional system. Secondly, provide unmanned self-
service systems in the community to carry the space, extend the urban infrastructure and service 
system from two to three dimensions, build a new service network under the three-dimensional 
system, maximize service efficiency, and make residents' The use of facilities is more convenient. 
With the intervention of the unmanned autonomous system in the future, the community will build 
five major systems of express delivery, residence, medical treatment, travel, and greening to 
connect with urban infrastructure and public service systems to solve the travel, medical, and 
environmental difficulties of residents in the community.(Figure 2)Difference, Traffic chaos and other 
Figure 2. Schematic diagram of the five major systems in old settlements in the future 
4 ISUF 2020 Cities in the Twenty-first Century 
issues. In order to provide space for the system, restore the internal and external environment of 
the community, building facades, roofs, etc., and dismantle private buildings under the premise of 
recording the lifestyle of residents, and establish vertical and horizontal systems in the community, 
of which the vertical system It is mainly to build grids and tracks on the building facade and roof. 
The horizontal system is mainly to carry out a balanced layout in the community, implanted in 
different levels of medical, express, parking, greening, residential and other sites, the humanoid, 
vehicle, logistics, etc. Connect the system to build a three-dimensional transportation network, 
connect the community network system with the urban network system, and provide a more 
convenient service system for residents' daily life. 
DISINTEGRATION AND RECONSTRUCTION OF BOUNDARY SPACE BASED ON UNMANNED 
SYSTEMS 
The boundary spaces of traditional existing communities, including the outside environment of the 
community, building facades, roofs, etc., are mostly in uncontrolled "grey areas" or "lost spaces", 
which have long been occupied by private and random construction activities by residents and 
some vendors, resulting in In addition to the waste of space and a lot of hidden safety problems, 
this phenomenon also reflects that such space has certain use value, and the residents' demand for 
transformation is strong. Therefore, the reconstruction of the boundary space can better serve the 
residents in the community. As the intelligent unmanned system breaks the original urban model, 
the boundaries of the existing community in the city will also collapse (the traditional ground floor 
will be raised to the height of the roof, the vertical facade of the traditional building, the roof will 
also become Free docking windows, etc.), the reconstructed boundary space can provide a 
loading space for unmanned systems, and activate the boundary space with the intervention of 
unmanned systems to meet the needs of residents. 
CUSTOMIZATION, MODULARIZATION AND STAGED CONSTRUCTION BASED ON RESIDENTS' 
NEEDS 
In the traditional existing community, due to the complex composition of personnel, different living 
objects will inevitably lead to the differentiation of needs due to their own economic conditions, 
physical conditions, etc., and the needs of different periods are still a dynamic evolution process. 
The adaptive transformation of existing residential areas should be flexible and time-sensitive. It can 
be customized and staged for different user groups. Modular design can be used to continuously 
make certain adjustments according to the new needs of residents. To achieve organic updates 
within the community.(Figure 3) 
Community transformation and construction adopt customized services. A total of 36 boxes of 
different sizes, different functions are provided as carriers for the connection of unmanned 
equipment and buildings. Including travel boxes, green boxes, medical boxes and residential 
boxes, residents can customize the corresponding function boxes according to their own needs. 
After submitting orders in the cloud, they will be distributed and installed by intelligent robots. 
interference. Different boxes are fixed according to the nature of use, and some can move along 
the track. For example, the travel box can transport residents who need to travel directly from the 
outer window of the house to the station in the community. Send to destination. Residents can join 
the corresponding sharing community to share their experience and feelings about the product, and 
increase the interaction between neighbors. 
5 ISUF 2020 Cities in the Twenty-first Century 
 
Figure 3. Community customized update flow chart 
The Baimiao community and surrounding communities have many similar problems, such as physical 
space systems and community service networks. Especially for some communities with severe aging, 
the problems of elderly travel and medical treatment cannot be solved. Therefore, the "boundary 
reconstruction" design concept and design methods such as construction, shaping and directional 
customization are a systematic method for updating existing communities from the daily life system 
of residents to the physical space environment, which is universal and reproducible. The two 
characteristics are applicable to the Baimiao community and the existing communities in a large 
number of cities, so as to solve the problems of poor living quality and urgent transformation of the 
existing communities facing the region. Through the integration and linking of related infrastructure, 
the unmanned system is integrated into the daily life of residents of the existing community, creating 
a new life experience, so that the residents of the existing community can also enjoy the dividends 
brought by technological progress. (Figure 4) 
 
Figure 4. Sketch of the shape of the old settlement in the future 
6 ISUF 2020 Cities in the Twenty-first Century 
CONCLUSIONS 
China's real estate industry has gradually entered the "stock era", a large number of existing 
communities have poor environmental quality and are in urgent need of transformation. The article 
proposes the concept of “boundary reconstruction”, respects the residents’ original lifestyle, 
proposes ways to participate in the construction, shaping, customization, replication, and growth of 
residential life systems based on future intelligent unmanned autonomous systems, and advocates 
the extension of urban basic service facilities and The service system may become a new idea for 
the transformation of existing communities. The development of science and technology can be 
used to solve many problems in the renovation and upgrading of existing communities, such as the 
improvement of quality of life, the economics of transformation, and great impact on residents. 
Sustainability, etc., we will continue to pay attention and follow-up research. 
REFERENCES 
Han,Z.(2020)Application of artificial intelligence technology in intelligent buildings . Science and 
Technology Innovation and Application 10, 166-167. 
Luo,D.J. (2020) How to integrate the intelligent building industry with "new infrastructure". 
Construction Times 8, 03-19. 
Xie, X.D.,Wang Y. (2018)Renewal and Activation Design of Historic Blocks under the Background 
of Organic Renewal——Taking the Historic Block of Sanxue Street in Xi’an as an Example, 
Architecture Skills 7:112-114. 
Zhang,Q.(2017)Community Weaving, Intergenerational Mutual Assistance——Building an Existing 
Community Living Space Shared by Everyone. New Architecture 1, 14-18. 
Zhang,Q.,Qiao Y.N,Wang,R.Ma,Y.(2018) Research on the Intergenerational Shared Space in 
University Residential Areas Based on the Temporal and Spatial Behavior of Residents——Taking 
the Residential Area of the South Campus of Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology as an 
Example. Urban Architecture 34, 35 -39. 
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR 
Qian Zhang, Professor, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China, 
Master’s Supervisor, Vice Director of the Department of Architecture,Long-term commitment to the teaching 
and research of Aging design and planning of living environment. 291409580@qq.com(Email) 


Regeneration under crisis - research on the renewal and evolution of the forms of future urban residential communities

Scheer, Brenda Case

Introduction

Wang, Bo

Xiong, Xinkai

ISUF 2020: CITIES IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY  
 
EVOLUTION AND ALIENATION OF THE MFB IN SHANGHAI — BASED 
ON THE URBAN MORPHOLOGY STUDY OF CAOJIADU DISTRICT 
Bo Wang, Graduate student in College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, China 
Xinkai Xiong, Senior Consultant, Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, China 
Feng Song, Associate professor in College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, China 
ABSTRACT 
Shanghai had developed three fringe belts containing IFB, MFB and OFB since the opening of 
Shanghai port in 1843. The MFB was associated with the industry and institution plots along the 
Wusong river and Huangpu river, following evolution and alienation process through successive 
stages. Caojiadu district, located on the MFB, had taken great changes in the urbanization 
process of the megacity. Since this area was one of the birthplaces of Shanghai’s light industry, 
factories, warehouses and institutes were arranged here in the period of the Republic of China. 
The rapid repletion process continued until the People’s Republic of China founded in 1949. Then 
the economic reform began by introducing the market economy system in the 1980s. Caojiadu 
was affected by the commercial redevelopment and residential regeneration, which created a 
totally new plot system. 
The whole morphological process in Caojiadu district can be regarded as a representative pattern 
of the MFB development in Shanghai. In socialist China, the economic and social forces which 
affect the evolution and alienation of the fringe belt are different from western countries. The study 
of Caojiadu can be seen as a unique but typical reflection of the revolutionary changes. 
Keywords: urban morphology, fringe belt, Shanghai, Caojiadu district, evolution and alienation. 
INTRODUCTION  
Fringe belts spontaneously emerge at urban peripheries between building cycles, and later become 
embedded within the city during urban development processes (Whitehand, 1972). As for the cities 
with long histories, fringe belts act as a remarkable “palimpsest” for the continuous evolution 
stages. Meanwhile, parks and open spaces are often arranged in fringe areas. The dual meaning 
of the urban heritage and ecology protects the city from the negative effects of the massive 
construction and reconstruction in urban areas (Ünlü, 2013). 
Shanghai had developed three fringe belts containing IFB, MFB and OFB since the opening of 
Shanghai port in 1843 (Xiong, 2016). The MFB was associated with the industry and institution 
plots on the Wusong riverside and Huangpu riverside, which allowed a better understanding of the 
historical development of Shanghai. However, due to the rapid urbanization process and the 
industrial structure transformation, most of the industrial blocks located on the MFB have been 
demolished and replaced by high density residential buildings, commercial complex and high-rise 
offices, triggering the MFB alienation process. 
Caojiadu district used to be an industrial area on the MFB of Shanghai, and had experienced 
fringe belt initiation, expansion, consolidation and alienation cycles. As this area was one of the 
birthplaces of Shanghai’s light industry, Caojiadu district can be regarded as a typical case 
reflecting the MFB development of Shanghai. In this paper, the fringe belt evolution and alienation, 
2 ISUF 2020 Cities in the Twenty-first Century 
including the MFB development in general and the alienation process occurring in Caojiadu district, 
were analyzed. 
THE MFB DEVELOPMENT OF SHANGHAI 
The formative forces of the MFB development of Shanghai can be divided into the concession force, 
the industry force and the policy and planning force through successive stages of the MFB initiation, 
expansion, consolidation and alienation (See Figure 1). 
After opening its port in 1843, Shanghai became the origin of China’s modern industry and 
experienced a shift from agriculture to industry and exports. Between 1843 and the 1860s, there 
was an intense growth in the rate of population and migration, leading to the real estate 
speculation in concessions. Since the 1860s, urban land prices in concessions had increased due to 
the residential development, which resulted in the relocation of industrial areas. The factories, 
together with some ports and warehouses were arranged on the Wusong riverside and Huangpu 
riverside for the convenient transportation and cheaper land prices on the edge of concessions. In 
this period, the industry and institution plots had a linear growth following the routes of the 
riversides and the roads constructed beyond concession boundaries. Meanwhile, migrants 
gradually settled around these industrial areas to make a living. The MFB initiated in these 
industrial blocks. 
From the 1910s to the 1930s came the second industrialization process of Shanghai, the industrial 
blocks on the MFB attracted more investment from the national capital and foreign capital. The 
industry development resulted in the growing labor requirements, hence the increasing rural-urban 
migration accelerated and more factories and squatter settlements were built for migrants. As a 
result, the MFB expanded. 
At the beginning of the foundation of the PRC in 1949, there was a decrease in the rate of 
population and migration on the MFB because of the economic stagnation, which led to the stable 
Figure 1. The formative forces of the MFB development of Shanghai 
3 ISUF 2020 Cities in the Twenty-first Century 
industrial development regulations. In this period, the development of the industry on the MFB was 
controlled by the static and protective planning, which resulted in the consolidation of the MFB. 
The economic reform began by introducing the market economic system and international 
commerce in the 1980s, which resulted in remarkable changes. The economic status of some 
industrial areas 
located in the inner 
city got worse due to 
the poor management 
and the lack of 
industrial 
agglomeration effects. 
By 1987, the 
residential 
regeneration of these 
industrial blocks was 
permitted by law 
among some people 
and areas. By the 
1990s there was a 
boom period of the 
real estate 
development and 
about 70 percent of 
the new construction 
areas were along the 
inner ring area of 
Shanghai, covering part of the MFB areas. Some of the factories were relocated to the industrial 
districts newly planned on the outskirts of Shanghai, and the original areas were occupied by long-
rent apartments or high-end residential communities for the increasing land price in the downtown. 
The residential regeneration reflected the large-scale demolition and reconstruction feature, causing 
the fringe belt alienation. 
THE MORPHOLOGICAL PROCESS OF CAOJIADU DISTRICT 
Caojiadu district was one of the birthplaces of Shanghai’s light industry on the Wusong riverside, 
which now became a commercial center on the junction of three administrative regions. It can be a 
typical case to narrate the dynamics of the fringe belt formation and alienation (see figure 2). 
Through the satellite images of 1948, 1979, 1994, 2006, 2017 and the plan surveyed in 1948 at 
the scale of plot, together with the industrial and residential documentary records for plots in 1948 
and 2018, the fringe belt development in Caojiadu district can be recognized into four phases: the 
initiation phase, the expansion phase, the consolidation phase and the alienation phase. 
The first phase of the fringe belt initiation stretched from 1864 to 1913. Before this period, 
Caojiadu was a little river port located on the Wusong riverside with polder field and villages. 
From 1864, several new municipal roads began to build beyond the concession boundaries by the 
concession authorities. In Caojiadu district, 6 new roads including Jessfield Road, Bailinan Road, 
Figure 2. The location of Caojiadu district 
4 ISUF 2020 Cities in the Twenty-first Century 
Yidingpan Road, Kangnaotuo Road, Xinjiapo Road, Laobosheng road were built and converged at 
the Wujiaochang area, which became a center place for trading and social intercourse later. 
In 1892, the first factory was built in this area for the convenient river transport. Within three years, 
more factories were seated on the unoccupied areas. Increasing rural-urban migrants came to 
work, so in the 1890s more Lilong settlements and squatter settlements were built around the 
factories for low-income workers. Due to the land constraints, the residential settlements were small 
and dense, causing congestion, fire risk and threatening health security because of their irregular 
character. 
The second phase of the fringe belt expansion stretched from the World War I to the foundation of 
the PRC. Caojiadu district had already been a new industrial area on the edge of the concession 
before this period, hence attracted more migrants after sufficient capital was released during the 
First World War. Within only two decades, the population expanded to 151,276 in 1936, which 
was about twenty times of the previous period (7,543 in 1919). At the end of the 1930s, a total of 
96 factories were seated in Caojiadu district with various industrial categories including weaving, 
steel, foundry, machinery and dyeing. 
In this period, the urban fabric was mainly characterized by the detached factories and the linear 
growth along roads as a reflection of the arterial ribbon. As for the former, detached factories 
were added to the spacious land open to the surroundings, and most of them were large-scaled 
factories owned by foreign nationals. As for the latter, the linear structure of the Lilong settlements 
almost filled the entire frontage of the given blocks. Home-based factories and small-scaled services 
were distributed along the roads, such as shoe factories and groceries owned by Chinese nationals. 
In the 1940s, some small official buildings were implanted into the unoccupied space. Caojiadu 
district were gradually filled up with diversified building types: large-scaled detached factories, 
small-scaled home-based factories, Lilong houses, squatter settlements and small official buildings. 
The consolidation phase began after the PRC founded in 1949, during which the social condition 
changed thoroughly. The socialist transformation caused the subdivisions of the industrial plots to 
the residential plots. The factories decreased from 96 to 53 by the end of the 1950s, and more self-
build houses were added to original plots. Along with the increasing density, the problems of 
housing shortage and poor living condition for the working-class needed to be solved, hence a 
house reconstruction under the political, economic and city management system of socialism was 
released to provide a compact but upper standard living condition by building social houses for 
workers. 
5 ISUF 2020 Cities in the Twenty-first Century 
Since the 1980s, there was a remarkable morphological change in Caojiadu district after the 
implementation of the land leasing and housing reform. Due to the separation of the land 
ownership and land use rights, the urban land can be paid into use within a limited time, hence the 
real estate market began to boom. Meanwhile, the transformation of the industrial structure from 
industry to service in Shanghai, driven by the differential land rent and the increasingly strict 
environment protection, set off a burst of bulldozer residential regeneration in the industrial blocks 
near the downtown. In this period, the government and the enterprises cooperated to promote the 
residential regeneration together, considering the history and location of industrial blocks and the 
strength of the real estate enterprises to obtain high profits in a short time (see figure 3). 
In 1984, a commercial development strategy was released by the government of Jing’an district. 
Caojiadu was planned as a commercial center in the south of Jing’an district for its geographical 
potential. To meet the requirement of the commercial redevelopment, the government decided to 
reconstruct this area and transform Caojiadu district into a district with vitality by providing 
diversified commercial activities, and a well-made living condition as well. 
In this period, a residential community-oriented regeneration of the industrial blocks was promoted. 
Most of the factories and squatter settlements were demolished and just minority of the old plots 
with heritage value were conserved. For instance, the largest renovation project in Jing’an district 
to transform the squatter settlements into high-end residential community called Da’an Garden  
  
Figure 3. The ground plan and building fabric of Caojiadu district in 2019 
6 ISUF 2020 Cities in the Twenty-first Century 
community was released in Caojiadu district, covering about 10 hectares. Within the last two 
decades, the land finance prompted the government to sell the industrial land, hence some large-
scale residential communities emerged in fragmented industrial plots, accelerating the alienation 
process. 
As for the residual landscape before 1948, only one Catholic church and one residential 
community called Zhonghangbieye with several welfare houses built for the workers in the Bank of 
China remained, with the recognition of their heritage value. For the residual landscape between 
1950 to 1978, only few of the low-rent houses built for workers remained, such as Jishanli and 
Zhichengli, but with no residents now, confronting urban renewal. The detached factories and 
institutional buildings were mainly dismantled after the 1980s for the industrial structure 
transformation. More high-end communities, commercial complex and public buildings were built 
for the residential and commercial regeneration with high-efficient execution. In general, Caojiadu 
district had experienced bulldozer-like reconstruction at the block level, not at the plot level. The 
whole district turned into a homogenized area with little collective memory remained. 
The land utilization was also a reflection of the large-scale fringe belt alienation (see figure 4). 
Through successive stages of the fringe belt evolution and alienation, several institution plots 
remained, but just providing the basic service for this district. As a commercial center planned in the 
1980s, Caojiadu showed no difference with other business circles. The informal small-scaled 
commerce along the roads disappeared. To coordinate with the metropolitan structure of Shanghai, 
the quality of facilities improved and the 
spatial environment with better visual results 
was created. 
In summary, Caojiadu experienced a 
complete building circle of fringe belt 
evolution and alienation. Through the fringe 
belt initiation, expansion, consolidation and 
alienation, Caojiadu changed from the 
Xiazhijiao which was called by locals 
meaning plenty of squatter settlements with 
rubbish, drugs, gambling and gangland 
due to the rapid repletion process, into the 
Huxi Xiaoshanghai which means an 
important commercial center in the west of 
Shanghai. The development process 
gradually followed the urban formality 
rather than the urban informality. The 
evolution process was affected by 
diversified formative forces mainly driven 
by urban informality. At the beginning the 
cheaper plots in Caojiadu district at the 
urban periphery were included in fringe 
belt areas for lower land price and density. 
Then rapid repletion process began with 
growing labor requirement. After the 
1980s, the alienation process was at block 
Figure 4. The land utilization of Caojiadu district in 2019 
7 ISUF 2020 Cities in the Twenty-first Century 
level with large amount of plot amalgamation and subdivision to demolish industrial buildings and 
large-scale construction to relocate residents. As an important industrial area, Caojiadu was 
considered as a memorable place for local people with collective memories. However, with the 
bulldozer-like morphological reconstruction, the social structure changed drastically and the 
original life pattern was completely missing. 
CONCLUSION 
Through the case study of Caojiadu district, a formative pattern of the fringe belt evolution and 
alienation through accumulation, transformation and replacement can be concluded (see figure 5). 
Like many other western megacities, the fringe areas in China have been relocated or decreased 
regularly through the successive development stages. The industrial areas were occupied by 
shopping malls and commercial complex, and the informal squatter settlements had been 
transformed into formal residential settlements. As a result of the migration and the rapid 
urbanization, fringe belts have tended to be alienated. However, the scope and the speed of the 
fringe belt alienation in Shanghai were different in spatial and economic perspectives. 
Figure 5. The morphological process of Caojiadu district 
8 ISUF 2020 Cities in the Twenty-first Century 
In spatial perspective, because of the large-scale alienation, the MFB now in Shanghai was not 
striped but scattered as patches, although in the process of formation it followed the route of the 
riversides and roads (Xiong, 2016). There were huge gaps in physical condition between Caojiadu 
and its adjacent blocks, so the conservation and construction plans chose not to consider the fringe 
belt areas as entirety, which was one of the reasons for the destroy of the original urban tissue. In 
economic perspective, the alienation process was influenced by the accelerating population flows 
and housing tendencies driven by the government and the market-oriented economy. The city 
government had a huge influence on the alienation process by taking control of the land resources. 
The MFB areas were regarded as new construction areas to build a metropolis. With sufficient 
capital investment released, the alienation of fringe belt was at the block level, not the plot level. 
The key factor was to maximize benefits ,so the morphological features of Caojiadu had been 
removed within a limited time. 
The rapid alienation of the MFB in Shanghai can been seen as a revolutionary change, hence part 
of the morphological theories excluded from these megacities. An urban expansion model based 
on fringe belt at the street-block level should be built as an extension of Conzenian School theories 
in megacities like Shanghai. Meanwhile, with the requirement for new development, the fringe belt 
alienation will continue unless these areas are protected under the conservation planning. In the 
context of Shanghai’s internationalization and structure transformation, a systematic renewal 
framework to sustain the continuity of the integrated MFB areas should be released. 
REFERENCES 
Xinkai Xiong. (2016). Understanding Urban Landscape Change in Large Cities based on Street-
Block Analysis –exemplified by the Central Area of Shanghai after 1949, M.A. Thesis. Beijing: 
Peking University 
Ünlü, T. (2013). Thinking about urban fringe belts: a Mediterranean perspective. Urban 
Morphology, 17(1), 5-20. 
Whitehand, J. W. (1972). Building cycles and the spatial pattern of urban growth. Transactions of 
the Institute of British Geographers, 39-55. 
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR 
Feng Song, Associate professor, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, 
No.2 YiFu Building, Room 3463, Beijing, 100871, songfeng@urban.pku.edu.cn 


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